Be More with Less (Pt.1)

To give some brief information: The movement of Minimalism started in New York, late 1960s, to present itself as “cool over dramatic” in many art forms. Minimalist artists and scholars believed that with fewer material and fewer possession, comes the limpid and the clearer life.

There are so many information on the web describing minimalism as an act of owning only a limited number of possessions, and how you can be a minimalist. But relying on my own knowledge and opinion, I can say that minimalism is more about finding freedom in the material world than putting limitations to what you own. We can use minimalism as a tool that can assist us in finding an escape from fear, overwhelm, guilt, depression and many other negative feelings that come with overthinking.

Some may believe that a significant amount of these feelings occur because of the trappings of the consumer world and the competition it brings; however, personally I don’t want to see the eternally consuming world as a dreadful thing since that thought will only bring sorrow. Instead, I try to see our consuming behaviours in a more meaningful way.

For me, minimalism is to have the amount of things you need to grow as a person and putting value to those things. When we start to go overboard with our consuming, we over-value things that don’t deserve to be valued. By having more things, we come closer to distracting ourselves from what really is important. I’m not saying that having tons of things laying around will bring you sadness and confusion, but I can only feel at peace when there is a minimum amount of stuff around me. I know that I can’t work on a desk full of non useful things hanging around, so I try to organise my life to be as minimalist as possible.

At this point, I might have distracted myself from the dictionary definition of minimalism; but all I’m trying to say is that with more conscious and deliberate decisions, we can live simpler. To be honest, I wouldn’t call myself a true minimalist, although, I try to live as simple as possible and I try not to create an unnecessary huge mess in my head. Even stopping myself before buying the smallest thing that won’t add something to who I am makes me feel more at ease. If you are the complete opposite of me and enjoy the taste chaos brings and happy with your life, then continue doing you. But if you are someone in search of a simpler life, I hope you reach the freedom that comes with being happy with less.

In the end, all I can suggest is, be more conscious in what you give value to & to those who like simplicity, remove to improve.

(images via various pages around the web)

(information also from all around the web but specifically from minimalists.com)